Heavy feet danced down the cobblestone street, passing an open field. The clicks and clatters of shoes could be heard in the dark; the moon revealed the figures’ outlining. The legs of children sprinted across the uneven cobbles. A small hand grasped William’s arm.

“Hurry up!” Madison whispered. Though William was tall, he could not outrun Madison. However, they ran in unison. A dim light towered over them and a figure arose from behind. Madison flipped her head back. A short, young man was running closer to them. He had a thin blonde moustache, a nose that curved out with a sharp point, bushy eyebrows, distinct green eyes, and a blue outfit that fit him perfectly.

“Officer?” William said, a raise in his voice.

“Why are you two younglings out so late at night?” he asked, holding the lantern closer to their faces, in a blinding manner.

“We must get to Dr. Aster! Mr. Brown has been hurt because…” Madison shivered as she spoke in her quickened and quivered voice until her words faded. Her sentence never finished. The officer put his hand on her wrist.

“Now, this isn’t a game. Don’t be foolish. I’ll head to his house now. But if this is some foolish prank, I will not hesitate to inform your father,” the police officer said, but then nonchalantly walked in the opposite direction.

“He doesn’t believe us!” Madison exclaimed and she rolled her eyes as she surged forward, arriving at the house, first to the left. Madison slammed on the door.

“Dr. Aster! Dr. Aster!” William shouted. The door opened closely but rudely, William barged in.

“What is the meaning of this?” asked his irritated wife, Rachel. “Henry, Mr. and Miss Taylor seem awfully nervous and they need to speak with you.” Dr. Aster rushed in, flipping the collar of his jacket up.

“What would be the problem, now?” Dr. Aster asked.

“Our mother put together some food for Mr. Brown…” William began.

“But when we got there, this woman attacked us. And she’s stricken Mr. Brown!” Madison ended William’s sentence. Mrs. Aster gasped.

“The poor old man. Henry, go with the children and be careful,” she told him. He gazed at her, nodded, grabbed a black case, and ran out the door.
Wrinkles cleared from her face when she sighed. There was no use protesting. Aster hurried outside after grabbing a jacket and went towards the back to get on top of his horse. He felt a shot of pain as he climbed on and his heart skipped a beat.

“I’m getting too old,” he muttered, a short laughing following after. He softly hit the horse’s side and it clopped into the road. Dr. Aster didn’t even have time to put his riding equipment on. If what William and Madison said was true, he had to hurry.

“Go home! I will relay you the news tomorrow. Now, it’s not safe to be out at night. Hurry,” Dr. Aster’s voice boomed as his horse galloped at lightning speed.

“But! That’s exactly what we needed to tell you!” William shouted but the doctor was already too far away to hear him.

“William, he’s right. We must get home,” Madison said.

It only took a few minutes for Aster to arrive at Mr. Brown’s shabby house. All around houses were lit up. One woman in particular was standing by her door. The group ignored the stares of confusion and fear. Dr. Aster walked right in; the door was lying on the floor. One woman proceeded inside with Madison and William. Dr. Aster’s eyes flickered back and forth. A candle sat in the kitchen so he picked it up. Now, that was much better! Though the hot wax stung his bare hands, he did not even cringe or flinch. He cautiously but rapidly walked up the stairs. As he entered the bedroom, he saw an overcast shadow sitting in the corner. The nosey woman interrupted his study of the Dr. Brown.

“Dr. Aster?” the voice of the pestering woman could be heard from downstairs.

“Yes?” he shouted as he held the light up to the body.

“I heard a scream, only a few minutes ago. Is everything all right? This is Lucy,” Lucy replied.

“Yes, yes. Everything will be just fine,” he said as he studied Mr. Brown’s arm. He tied the top of Mr. Brown’s arm. “That should help to stop the bleeding.”

“I’m coming up. Nothing sounds okay,” she said. He heard heavy stomps coming closer. To the side of him were a heavy silver pan and a shoe standing up. He heard a gasp.

“I’m going to help!” she announced. She was wearing clothing that seemed very unfitting for her, though she was already short as she was. Lucy had short brown hair that covered her face. She gasped again. “There are two bodies!”

“I didn’t notice,” Dr. Aster, said, his cheeks red in embarrassment. He handed the candle to Lucy who held it close to a hooded woman’s face. In the murderer’s hand was a knife.

“Is that?” She picked up the heavy pan and looked at it. “What…What happened?” Her fingers slipped and it hit the woman in the head. He rolled his eyes and went back to work with the little light he had.

“Dr. Aster! Dr. Aster!” cried the two siblings. They ran up the stairs and the doctor looked behind to discover that they brought with them a patrol officer and their father. Lucy’s face hardened for a moment but than softened up again.

“Oh! It’s horrible,” she cried.

“Mrs. or Miss, why are you here. Are you Dr. Aster’s assistant?” the officer asked.

“Oh no, sir. I could never work in the medical business. Me? Saving a life? I cannot imagine it,” she said.

“Mr. Murderer has been found too. Quite interesting…” the officer said.

“It’s a Miss,” Matt, Sydney, and Lucy all said in unison.

“A Miss! That’s incredible!” he told them as he brought his lantern closer to the face. Matt had an alarmed look on his face when he looked at the unconscious woman.

“Abigail Johnson is the culprit!” The officer sounded surprised and confused. “What a shock!”

“Yes, I quite agree,” Lucy said as she bit her lip.

“Dr. Aster, can I be of any assistance?” asked the siblings’ father.
Aster seemed to ponder on the thought but with some hesitation, “Yes, of course. Please could you grab that needle out of the kit.”
“What is Mr. Brown’s condition?” Lucy asked, pausing after each word.
“Miss, don’t worry. He will be just fine,” Dr. Aster replied. She bit her lip but all attention was given to the howl of a wolf.
“A full moon too,” Lucy said.

“Do you believe in superstition?” Dr. Aster asked.
“Of course! Don’t say I’m a witch, but I love superstition,” Lucy whispered.

“Can you believe it? The governor is going to award us!” William exclaimed, jumping with joy as they joined a crowd walking towards the ceremony. Throughout the week, people had been asking them questions and crowding around them. Stories were written about them and distributed to people. It talked about Abigail’s trial-to-be as well.

“I’m quite proud of the two of you,” their father replied. By just looking at William you could tell this was all going to his head, from his jubilant face to the nonchalant way he was walking.
William moved ahead obliviously. Madison too tried to hurry up to the front. She noticed two pairs of eyes staring out from the darkness of an opened window. As soon as William passed by, the door flipped open and a familiar woman walked into the scene.
“Hello,” a woman said as she suddenly appeared by his side. “It’s Lucy, remember! Could I show you something for a minute?” She drifted off to the side.

“I really must get going!” William protested.

“Oh! Please…it would be quite unfortunate if we could not show you something for a second. I was visiting my parents and I’ll have to leave soon. My husband shall be expecting me. I didn’t even think I’d stay for today!”

“Fine,” William said. They drifted through an ally until the crowd was no longer visible. William’s eyes bulged as she pulled a short knife out. “I have been waiting to show you this for sometime. It would be quite unfortunate if I could not finish what I started,” she whispered sharply. Her eyes had a desire in them and a devilish smile appeared on her face. The ally darkened, everything went black, and William’s body fell limp.